Mallrats: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1995
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Cast: Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Renée Humphrey, Jason Mewes, Ethan Suplee, Stan Lee, Priscilla Barnes, Michael Rooker

Release Date: June 27th, 2023
Approximate Running Times: 94 Minutes 44 Seconds (Theatrical Cut), 121 Minutes 50 Seconds (Extended Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"Simultaneously dumped by their girlfriends, comic book obsessive Brodie (Jason Lee) and best friend TS (Jeremy London) plan to ease the pain of their losses by taking take a trip to the local mall. Amongst shoppers, they discover the mall is being used as the venue for a dating show, in which TS's girlfriend Brandi is the star. Hatching a plan to win back their significant others, Brodie and TS enlist the help of professional delinquents Jay and Silent Bob to hijack the gameshow in a bid to win back Brandi. Meanwhile, Brodie carries out his own mission to make good his relationship with Rene (Shannen Doherty), who has attracted the attentions of his nemesis Shannon (Ben Affleck)." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Theatrical Cut, Extended Cut)

Here’s the information provided about the transfers, "The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at NBC Universal's Studio Post facility. A 35mm interpositive element was also scanned in 4K for the content unique to the Director's Cut version. The film was graded and restored at R3Store Studios in London. This restoration has been approved by Director Kevin Smith and Director of Photography David Klein."

Mallrats theatrical cut comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 84.4 GB

Feature: 69.4 GB

Mallrats extended cut comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD

Disc Size: 91.1 GB

Feature: 86.9 GB

This release uses as its source the same excellent transfers that Arrow Video used for their 2020 Blu-ray release. Color saturation, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. That said, it is hard to imagine Mallrats looking any better than this release. Though the two transfers are comparable, it should be noted that the extended cut has some frame jumps that are inherent to the source. Also, the frame jumps are discussed by Kevin Smith in one of the extras.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

The theatrical and extended cuts each come with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English and a DTS-HD stereo mix in English. The TV cut comes with one audio option, a Dolby Digital stereo mix in English. All of the audio mixes sound clean, clear, and balanced throughout, and ambient sounds are well represented. Range-wise, the DTS-HD 5.1 mixes do a good job expanding the sound spectrum. Both versions come with removable English SDH.

Extras:

Extras on disc with the theatrical cut include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 23 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Build Me Up Buttercup music video (3 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival Q&A with director Kevin Smith filmed for the 10th anniversary (9 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival retrospective with cast, crew and Kevin Smith titled Erection of an Epic: The making of Mallrats (22 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival cast and Kevin Smith interviews filmed onset (8 minutes 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), outtakes and behind the scenes footage (8 minutes 12 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Kevin Smith and archivist Vincent Pereira discuss deleted scenes and sequences originally cut from Mallrats (62 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with cinematographer David Klein titled When We Were Punks (6 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an animated featurette with Minnesota crew members who worked on Mallrats titled Hollywood of the North (10 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Jason Mewes titled Blunt Talk (9 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a newly filmed tribute to producer Jim Jacks by Kevin Smith titled Mr. Mallrats (12 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Kevin Smith titled My Mallrat Memories (29 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an introduction to the theatrical cut with Kevin Smith (12 minutes 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an archival audio commentary with Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, Vincent Pereira, and actors Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, and Jason Mewes.

Extras on disc with the extended cut include image galleries: behind the scenes stills (147 images) and comics (14 images), dailies (119 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), soundtrack EPK (4 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival introduction to the extended cut with Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (11 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover, a fold-out poster featuring replica blueprints for Operation Drive-by and Operation Dark Knight, and a 24-page booklet with cast and crew information, Mallrats: The Perfect Example of a Sophomore Slump written by Phillip Kemp, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

Mallrats is a textbook example of how you’re only as good as your last success. Written and directed by Kevin Smith, whose debut feature film Clerks was critically acclaimed and commercially successful. And though Mallrats would carry over most of the elements established in Clerks that have become synonymous with the films of Kevin Smith, for many fans of Kevin Smith, Mallrats has been the odd film out. That said, Mallrat's reputation with fans of Kevin Smith’s films has changed considerably.

Kevin Smith’s style of humor is reminiscent of films like Animal House and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. And though it is easy to see how these films could have influenced him, his own style and sense of humor always shine through. Content-wise, Mallrats is a satisfying mix of slapstick comedy and humorous dialog that’s often laced with sexual innuendo. Another thing that holds up well is how effectively Mallrats references pop culture.

Though there are so many areas where Mallrats excels, without a doubt, the most impressive aspect of Mallrats is its extraordinary ensemble cast, who all deliver pitch-perfect performances. Mallrat's heart and soul is Jason Lee’s (My Name Is Earl) portrayal of Brodie, a comic book-obsessed character who lives in his mother’s basement. Other performances of note include Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills, 90210) in the role of Brodie’s emotionally frustrated girlfriend and Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting) in the role of Shannon, a sexual predator who works at the mall.

It has been twenty-three years since the first time that I saw Mallrats. It is a film that immediately grabbed me, while my enthusiasm for most of Kevin Smith’s films has waned over the years. The same cannot be said about Mallrats; it’s a film that, like fine wine, gets better with age.

Though this release carries over most of the contents from Arrow Video’s 2020 Blu-ray release, it should be noted that the TV cut has not been included as part of this release.

Mallrats makes its way to 4K UHD via an exceptional release from Arrow Video, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer